im taking a wild guess your in cleveland in the US. if so visit www.i550sportboat.com and www.i550.org. there are prices for the kits there, made buy fellow anarchist Timber. i think they are around the 2500 mark off the top of my head.

Might be a bit costly to get the pre-cut ply sent to Oz due to the risk of importing nasty bugs.

However, I do have a mate up here in Townsville, QLD who is looking to build a I550, he also owns a CNC laser cutting business. He could cut the ply kits easy enough if the designer kindly sent him the CAD drawings and gave him permission

Your best (and cheapest) bet would be to buy the full size templates (i550sportboat.com). There is nothing in the "kit" that can't be reproduced with these templates. They only thing that would require a little extra work would be the stem.

Tim (seller of the kits and templates) is great to work with and answers all of my 25/day email questions.

nice one mojo
if that were the case(scotty could get the cad conversions)i would seriously consider building a i550 also!
by the way TTB how is the "green" one coming along? will it be at the qld sporty titles in june too?
are you still coming?
and how much do you think your boat has cost you so far?

nice one mojo if that were the case(scotty could get the cad conversions)i would seriously consider building a i550 also!by the way TTB how is the "green" one coming along? will it be at the qld sporty titles in june too?are you still coming?and how much do you think your boat has cost you so far?

the green one has stopped atm. he is building a spirited 380 for a client. i have found him a rig, so he should be on his way soon. can't wait to match up with him! wont be at state titles, but i am hoping to be there. ripitupcrew and i are just tyrying to finalise a 3rd person at this stage. i think at this stage with the new sails its around 13grand all up, thats with a bit of scrounging around for bits and bobs cheap aswell!

geeze didnt even see that post! yeah with a bit of breeze and some downwind action we can stay in touch with the E7's, as we did in bay 2 bay beating 3 of them over the line. and upwind we are more ross 650 speed as the 7's waterline gives them some legs!

In a downwind race where the leaders all sat in a glassout. Then 25knots came in from behind. going by this race the Ross 780 is faster then Vivace as the first 3 had elapsed times faster then them on the 2nd day.

In a downwind race where the leaders all sat in a glassout. Then 25knots came in from behind. going by this race the Ross 780 is faster then Vivace as the first 3 had elapsed times faster then them on the 2nd day.

but Tokyo in an all round event like the St Helena Cup last year you were 46min Race 1 and nearly an hour in Race 2 behind us fella.

fuck! im not talking in an allround race, im talking about two match ups for downwind and upwind. the elliott 7's are our match up DOWNWIND, not all the way around the bloody track. we then compare to a ross 650 upwind if we sail well. i never said we compare to the elliotts upwind.

fuck! im not talking in an allround race, im talking about two match ups for downwind and upwind. the elliott 7's are our match up DOWNWIND, not all the way around the bloody track. we then compare to a ross 650 upwind if we sail well. i never said we compare to the elliotts upwind.

Not what Timber said. He said it 12kn+ you can match it with an E7. Your example was downwind lottery race which is not very good for making a boat speed comparison. St Helena cup is a perfect race for making those comparisons. Barman was purely standing up for his class.

Not what Timber said. He said it 12kn+ you can match it with an E7. then i posted and corrected what he had saidYour example was downwind lottery race which is not very good for making a boat speed comparison. why not once the breeze was in we were doing E7 speed and started passing a couple long after the breeze was in......the boats are sailing in the same breeze at that point, pretty good point to make a speed comparason i think! St Helena cup is a perfect race for making those comparisons. Hardly considering we got hit, went in the piss, broke our bow pole and lost a halyard over both days Barman was purely standing up for his class.

36min over 2 days Tokyo, in 10knots of breeze thats outa sight, in a downwind race.

bahaha yeah and the majority of that stat you have posted was on the second day in less than 10knots most of the day and we got stuck at a mark along with twister the elliott 7 which took ALOT of time to get round. but when the conditions are right eg- later half in the first day of b2b, we go pretty well against them

geeze didnt even see that post! yeah with a bit of breeze and some downwind action we can stay in touch with the E7's, as we did in bay 2 bay beating 3 of them over the line. and upwind we are more ross 650 speed as the 7's waterline gives them some legs!

Thanks Tokyo.

You answered my Question , sorry to cause so much trouble! Sounds like E7 guys have little winnies.

haha timber on a stick eh? some just underestimate the power of wood!! not my fault someone doesnt want to believe what the boat can do DOWNWIND in the right conditions, but would rather argue about an allround performance against the E7. there was never any picking on the e7 anyway. and a magic should fucking erase one downhill with its traps and bigger rig, its pretty obvious it should

For fucks sake will you two stop carrying on like a pair of pork chops.

Both boats are great in their own special way and I have no doubt the TTB would be faster than an E7 in fresh downhill stuff. This years B2B was not the best for comparing relative speeds. The first day started like shit and the second ended like shit.

Interests:970-507-0428 Owner of the i550 design and main hawker of all things i550

Posted 24 June 2008 - 11:44 PM

YIKES, I was away for a couple days and had no idea that my post caused a huge shit slinging brawl.
However, I have to say that from reading the posts TTB was unfairly set upon. the E7 was not run down in any way. The i550 has shown surprising speed in certain conditions and points of sail. That's all.

The TTB goes alright with the kite up in 30knots...until the rudder breaks
Was quite funny something like this...
Bang *&^%(&^$! the rudders gone, crash broach, laugh giggle laugh, OK pull all the sails down before we capsize.

The TTB goes alright with the kite up in 30knots...until the rudder breaksWas quite funny something like this...Bang *&^%(&^$! the rudders gone, crash broach, laugh giggle laugh, OK pull all the sails down before we capsize.

haha! that was a pretty funny day. with the boat on its ear and you letting every rope in a cleat off until it came back up haha!

Timber, man you are always startin' somethin'. Don't sweat it! When we get a few of these puppy's built in the states, we'll be able to make our own speed comparisons. 'Till then, we'll have to put up with other people's accounts half way 'round the world. And, of course, TTB's opinion will count the most (regardless of what anyone else says) 'cause he built Hull #1, . We should know soon enough...

Timber, man you are always startin' somethin'. Don't sweat it! When we get a few of these puppy's built in the states, we'll be able to make our own speed comparisons. 'Till then, we'll have to put up with other people's accounts half way 'round the world. And, of course, TTB's opinion will count the most (regardless of what anyone else says) 'cause he built Hull #1, . We should know soon enough...

The boat looks great. One question what version are you building and why is there a full piece of ply where you would enter the cabin? Do you cut that hole later or do you enter the cabin through a hole in the companionway roof?

The boat looks great. One question what version are you building and why is there a full piece of ply where you would enter the cabin? Do you cut that hole later or do you enter the cabin through a hole in the companionway roof?

I'm building the "long cockpit" version. So the keel raises through the cockpit sole just behind the companionway. TTB's raises inside the cabin (he has a trick little hole in the cabin roof to let the top of the keel come through). The long cockpit version adds 14 inches to the cockpit and takes it from the cabin.

Frame 110 is that solid piece of plywood. I've not yet cut the hole for my companionway yet. Right now, i've got to climb in over the side to get to the front part of the boat which is a pain to say the least. I purchased a kit from Timber. Since the companionway is up to each builder to fabricate, he left that part of the frame solid. The companionway is one of those things on the "to be figured out" list right now. I'm going to deal with the bunks and stringers first.

Ron in Michigan is the guy who is cruising. He's got his interior done and painted and is fitting the decking. Man of Man I wish I was that far along. So we are all in the same boat I guess. Wishing we were as far along as someone else. You'll get there. Just take your time and do it right the first time because re-doing and fixing sucks big time.

Interests:970-507-0428 Owner of the i550 design and main hawker of all things i550

Posted 16 September 2008 - 02:52 PM

The number of plan sets sent out has grown to 145. There are a dozen boats planned for completion in early 2009.

I was doing the math the other evening and figured that for the price of a one design start of Melges 20's we could build 25 of our i550's. Anyway, I am wondering about when we first meet the M20 what will happen downwind. The i550 is 300 pounds lighter with nearly the same sail area. ......

I'm new to the sailing world and this looks like an affordable option for me but would like to get in contact with some owners. Have any of these been built or are being built in the PNW?

There are some plans in BC Can. I only have i550 forum id's for them. pm me and I'll forwarrd them.

And yes, Ron is in Minnesota, not Michigan. I think I mis-typed that a month or so ago. He's got his boat deck and is ready to flip it. I'm not quite that far yet. Still have lots of little things to figure out.

I was wondering and TTB you would probably know...........
Is a or "your i550 quicker than or competetive with the spider 22's?
the reason i ask is a mate of mine has the i550 plans but is also looking at a spider22 to sail now
Keen to hear yor reply

well you can ask chucky(bakers Dough) how we are against them down wind. upwind they have legs on us. just look at the video of bay to bay, we were itching to get past them under chute....2008 surf to city results as a comparo on a downwind race

You all need to stop talking about this I550, it makes me want to build one and for some reason that fund for a new car us looking mighty tempting when I look at the brand new (to me) 4 knt shit box in the driveway next to the car that has at least another 100K in it.

I hate to admit it but the last few times we have been out the trash baby has had a bit on us downhill. But we will have to see if that is still the same after we finish retuning the boat. It just hasnt been right since the mast went down last year but i think i just about have it right again. But as tokyo says we do have the legs on him uphill.

Thanks for the feed back guys i shall let him know!I think if he buys the spider he will still build the i550 anyway as a work promo...he has a lasercutting buisness and it would be a great example!
Do you guys know much about the boat he is looking at? its called SPYDERMAN?

Thanks for the feed back guys i shall let him know!I think if he buys the spider he will still build the i550 anyway as a work promo...he has a lasercutting buisness and it would be a great example!Do you guys know much about the boat he is looking at? its called SPYDERMAN?

Never heard if it. Personally i dont think he will regret the decision to buy a spider they are a great boat. And unlike the I550 have some reasonable space downstairs for a 22ft boat.

Interests:970-507-0428 Owner of the i550 design and main hawker of all things i550

Posted 02 November 2008 - 10:15 PM

Their are 156 plan sets sent out for the i550. Latest sets have gone to Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Singapore and Finland.
So far the country count stands at 26 with the largest numbers being in the US and Australia.

Their are 156 plan sets sent out for the i550. Latest sets have gone to Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Singapore and Finland. So far the country count stands at 26 with the largest numbers being in the US and Australia.

Anyone building in Virginia/So. Ches. bay? I am thinking about it but I want to build a canoe first to see how I like working with fiberglass and epoxy.

I think there are a couple that are with in shouting distance according to the user list on the i550.org site. If you sign up, you can see the user list and then make contact from there. For one, Tim F is in Maryland and he has just stitched his hull together.

And you'll love epoxy. It's pretty amazing stuff. The i550 is a substantial project compared to a kayak or canoe.

i've been quietly following this, and it intrigues me. I would dearly love to build one - and maybe in 2 or 3 years i will!
All cash has been blown on the house for now, and daughter will be a lot more help in a couple of years!

So, what is it going to cost me to build one in the UK?
Are there any in build in the UK?

what are the savings to be made by getting together and building 2 or 3 at the same time?

i've been quietly following this, and it intrigues me. I would dearly love to build one - and maybe in 2 or 3 years i will!All cash has been blown on the house for now, and daughter will be a lot more help in a couple of years!

So, what is it going to cost me to build one in the UK? Are there any in build in the UK?

what are the savings to be made by getting together and building 2 or 3 at the same time?

I don't have a tight bead on UK pricing. I can give a quick run down of what's needed to build a boat so you can do a rough budget. To the extent that you can scavenge items from an existing boat will equate to savings.

19 sheets of 8' x 4' 6mm meranti or okume 5 ply marine plywood. 7-8 gallons of epoxy35 yards of 6 or 10 oz cloth (depends on ply (meranti is stronger so gets 6oz fabric, okume needs more protection so it gets 10 oz cloth).a couple hundred feet of glass tape in various sizes and types. biax and straight.Hardwood for the keel, rudder and stem.200 lb of lead for a keel bulb.Lots of little building supplies like cups, sand paper and gloves.Tubing for compression post and bow sprit. We have everything from AL to homemade carbon tubing being put to use. Lots of range on the budget here.A rig - best recycling option is a Star rig or a 16' skiff rig. Next 6 months will bring lots of clarity as to what works and costs.Hardware (all new harken gear will run about $1800USD on a good sale. Lots of ways to save if you have something to pull parts off of.)Trailer - doesn't need to be huge, I'm looking to use a used trailer I find on the cheap. Maybe 3-400 bucks.Sails - typical prices are 3-4 k US for new sails depending on materials used. Don't forget all the other gear a new boat needs and add that it. My total budget including add and all the bells and whistles is around 12k. And I'll beat that using used rig and hopefully cheaper sails then my original budget.

There are 2 or 3 registered builders on the class website in the UK. Timber would be the person to get exact contact info for them. If you register on the class site you can look at the userlist. Quite a few in other parts of Europe too.

As for building more than 1 i550 at a time. The big benefits will be in figuring something out on 1 boat and then being able to do it much faster the 2nd or 3rd time. You might also have a daily build partner which will help a ton. Working along makes for a long haul. The i550 group has been very open with sharing what works and what doesn't work with each other. So any builder starting in the future should be able to gain a lot from what the early builders have been learning.

www.i550.org has forums with lots of questions and answers out there. And we always like to hear from new people.

i've been quietly following this, and it intrigues me. I would dearly love to build one - and maybe in 2 or 3 years i will!All cash has been blown on the house for now, and daughter will be a lot more help in a couple of years!

So, what is it going to cost me to build one in the UK? Are there any in build in the UK?

what are the savings to be made by getting together and building 2 or 3 at the same time?

I don't have a tight bead on UK pricing. I can give a quick run down of what's needed to build a boat so you can do a rough budget. To the extent that you can scavenge items from an existing boat will equate to savings.

19 sheets of 8' x 4' 6mm meranti or okume 5 ply marine plywood. 7-8 gallons of epoxy35 yards of 6 or 10 oz cloth (depends on ply (meranti is stronger so gets 6oz fabric, okume needs more protection so it gets 10 oz cloth).a couple hundred feet of glass tape in various sizes and types. biax and straight.Hardwood for the keel, rudder and stem.200 lb of lead for a keel bulb.Lots of little building supplies like cups, sand paper and gloves.Tubing for compression post and bow sprit. We have everything from AL to homemade carbon tubing being put to use. Lots of range on the budget here.A rig - best recycling option is a Star rig or a 16' skiff rig. Next 6 months will bring lots of clarity as to what works and costs.Hardware (all new harken gear will run about $1800USD on a good sale. Lots of ways to save if you have something to pull parts off of.)Trailer - doesn't need to be huge, I'm looking to use a used trailer I find on the cheap. Maybe 3-400 bucks.Sails - typical prices are 3-4 k US for new sails depending on materials used. Don't forget all the other gear a new boat needs and add that it. My total budget including add and all the bells and whistles is around 12k. And I'll beat that using used rig and hopefully cheaper sails then my original budget.

There are 2 or 3 registered builders on the class website in the UK. Timber would be the person to get exact contact info for them. If you register on the class site you can look at the userlist. Quite a few in other parts of Europe too.

As for building more than 1 i550 at a time. The big benefits will be in figuring something out on 1 boat and then being able to do it much faster the 2nd or 3rd time. You might also have a daily build partner which will help a ton. Working along makes for a long haul. The i550 group has been very open with sharing what works and what doesn't work with each other. So any builder starting in the future should be able to gain a lot from what the early builders have been learning.

www.i550.org has forums with lots of questions and answers out there. And we always like to hear from new people.

Cheers.

many thanks for a fulsome breakdown.it starts me thinking, and i'll see who i can con into building one in tandem with.

i've been quietly following this, and it intrigues me. I would dearly love to build one - and maybe in 2 or 3 years i will!All cash has been blown on the house for now, and daughter will be a lot more help in a couple of years!

So, what is it going to cost me to build one in the UK? Are there any in build in the UK?

what are the savings to be made by getting together and building 2 or 3 at the same time?

I don't have a tight bead on UK pricing. I can give a quick run down of what's needed to build a boat so you can do a rough budget. To the extent that you can scavenge items from an existing boat will equate to savings.

19 sheets of 8' x 4' 6mm meranti or okume 5 ply marine plywood. 7-8 gallons of epoxy35 yards of 6 or 10 oz cloth (depends on ply (meranti is stronger so gets 6oz fabric, okume needs more protection so it gets 10 oz cloth).a couple hundred feet of glass tape in various sizes and types. biax and straight.Hardwood for the keel, rudder and stem.200 lb of lead for a keel bulb.Lots of little building supplies like cups, sand paper and gloves.Tubing for compression post and bow sprit. We have everything from AL to homemade carbon tubing being put to use. Lots of range on the budget here.A rig - best recycling option is a Star rig or a 16' skiff rig. Next 6 months will bring lots of clarity as to what works and costs.Hardware (all new harken gear will run about $1800USD on a good sale. Lots of ways to save if you have something to pull parts off of.)Trailer - doesn't need to be huge, I'm looking to use a used trailer I find on the cheap. Maybe 3-400 bucks.Sails - typical prices are 3-4 k US for new sails depending on materials used. Don't forget all the other gear a new boat needs and add that it. My total budget including add and all the bells and whistles is around 12k. And I'll beat that using used rig and hopefully cheaper sails then my original budget.

There are 2 or 3 registered builders on the class website in the UK. Timber would be the person to get exact contact info for them. If you register on the class site you can look at the userlist. Quite a few in other parts of Europe too.

As for building more than 1 i550 at a time. The big benefits will be in figuring something out on 1 boat and then being able to do it much faster the 2nd or 3rd time. You might also have a daily build partner which will help a ton. Working along makes for a long haul. The i550 group has been very open with sharing what works and what doesn't work with each other. So any builder starting in the future should be able to gain a lot from what the early builders have been learning.

www.i550.org has forums with lots of questions and answers out there. And we always like to hear from new people.

Cheers.

many thanks for a fulsome breakdown.it starts me thinking, and i'll see who i can con into building one in tandem with.

Anybody considering building an i550 in foam core instead of plywood? For all the labor it's taking, I would be more interested in a final product that won't rot out.

It looks like a few builders have put diagonal strapping for stiffness, which will help. But a foam core boat can't help but have stiffer panels. It could be lighter but for the sake of one-design, would the class accept a foam-core boat if the hull were built to the same weight as plywood?

Anybody considering building an i550 in foam core instead of plywood? For all the labor it's taking, I would be more interested in a final product that won't rot out.

It looks like a few builders have put diagonal strapping for stiffness, which will help. But a foam core boat can't help but have stiffer panels. It could be lighter but for the sake of one-design, would the class accept a foam-core boat if the hull were built to the same weight as plywood?

FB- Doug

Rules are made to accept foam or toothpicks for that matter. It all has to do with min weight. There has been discussion about if additional weight is needed, where it is acceptable to add it, but there has been no final determination on that.

Interests:970-507-0428 Owner of the i550 design and main hawker of all things i550

Posted 20 November 2008 - 03:59 PM

The class will accept boats built from any material. The rules are posted at i550.org. The weight of 800 pounds and keel weight between 150 and 185 pounds need to be adhered to for one design racing.

If you do want to build a foamer I encourage you. Your statement that the woodies will rot out is not true. If the construction is epoxy coated on all surfaces and edges water intrusion is not going to rot a plywood epoxy glass boat. Neglect is the culprit of any boat. Leave it to fill with leaves and water and any boat will die.

rig size is controlled, sail area not, keel and rudder(s) section open for artistic interpretation. It is interesting to see how the different builders are interpreting their own ideas into the boats.

If you do want to build a foamer I encourage you. Your statement that the woodies will rot out is not true. If the construction is epoxy coated on all surfaces and edges water intrusion is not going to rot a plywood epoxy glass boat. Neglect is the culprit of any boat. Leave it to fill with leaves and water and any boat will die.

Sorry to disagree, but yes wood will rot. It's only a question of time. Of course, nothings perfect, foam delaminates etc etc.

In the years-ago I built a long series of ply boats, some were Bolger "instant boats" (in fact, my father & I built a one-design class of 'Surf' a great little boat) and some were a bit more elegant lapstrake ply classic types. All were epoxy saturated, most had light FG skins, all were decently cared for (some were actually stored indoors)... all are gone now. If you can make a plywood boat last 15 years without replacing major parts, then you have achieved magic. Epoxy is good but it ain't magic!

Nothing lasts forever of course. Plywood is less expensive by a notable margin but I'm thinking of the labor.

The plans are cheap. We welcome all.

Sounds good... I'm thinking about designing my own boat but a one-design certainly has strong appeal...

anyone else want to comment on how long one of these puppies will last with a sensible level of maintenence.
kept under a cover, but not indoors, and all problems promptly sorted?

i have the square rrot of fuck all knowledge about these things, and dont want to build a masterpiece (it is a do-it-once project if i do it!) if it is going to last 9 years before it turns to papier mache.

There have been many discussions about this and it boils down to trade offs. A well built and cared for boat will always outlast an abused one, that's not what we should be debating. I'd be very happy with a 15 year life span of my home built boat.

In general, the shape of the hull was designed to be made of plywood construction and takes advantage of the panel strength plywood provides. Wood is also very good at holding up to repeated stress cycles. Few man made materials can match wood in this regard over a long time frame. That's why I'm sticking with wood personally. However, TTB has a foam cored deck.

Foam will add different construction challenges than plywood. You might have to increase the size of the core substantially over the plywood (6mm) specified in the plans to get equal strength and the high duty cycle. You would also have some construction challenges that a plywood boat would not face. You might need to construct on a strong back and glass the outside before flipping and glassing the inside and then adding frames and all the other goodies.

As Tim mentioned, the class has a minimum hull weight which you would need to meet for class racing. The position of any corrector weights is up to the class and you would be foolish to think that we would allow the corrector weights to be placed at either side of the keel box on the bottom hull panel. The latest suggestion was to equally split the weight at place it at station 18 and 169. There are wood boats being built without a cabin tops which will also have corrector weights. The goal is to keep the boats equal as best as possible, not to be punitive to non-wood boats.

There are some builders in your neck of the woods. So you probably would end up with some i550's to play with on the water once you are sailing. Plans are cheap and make for good reading/dreaming during the cold winter months. I hope you join our band of crazy sailors.

anyone else want to comment on how long one of these puppies will last with a sensible level of maintenence.kept under a cover, but not indoors, and all problems promptly sorted?

i have the square rrot of fuck all knowledge about these things, and dont want to build a masterpiece (it is a do-it-once project if i do it!) if it is going to last 9 years before it turns to papier mache.

Since I'm speaking as the Voice of Doom, perhaps I should continue on a more positive note.... certainly don't want to discourage anybody from going ahead!

"Turning to paper mache" might be a bit of an exaggeration; but the issue of water intrusion after completion, or rot spores being included in the original wood before epoxying, is very very real.

If you keep the boat well it should be 4~5 years before you start getting soft spots, and if you use marine grade ply and do a god job epoxying, it could be a lot longer. Keeping all holes well caulked, hardware bedded etc etc is a high priority, letting it go a couple months too long will let the degradation start. And the problem with plywood is that the grain wicks the water all thru the structure very quickly.

The issue is what happens when you start to get soft spots. If you de-skin the soft section and replace the wood, then reskin it (not really a major job).... no problem. by the time the boat is 10~15 years old, the odds are very high you will have had to do this once or twice especially around deck hardware.

Of course, the odds are also high (in this modern world) that you will no longer be the owner so who cares?

The best lasting ply boats I know of are kayaks which are kept indoors and have almost no hardware screwed/bolted into them (so less chance for water intrusion). I know of one that is used regularly by the original owner, is about 20 years old, and (I think) has only a few minor questionable spots... since it's not mine I feel shy about poking it unmercifully the owner says he has not replaced any wood in it and that looks to be true.

This same guy had another boat that he had to put a fair amount of new wood into at 15 years, again a kayak with almost no fittings, screws, bolts, etc etc.

The worst case is a dinghy that I built of cheap Home Depot plywood that probably came from the store with wet spots. Despite liberal epoxy saturation (I had a lot of it left over from a previous job) the thing rotted out in a little over a year. That's why many people say that cheapo plywood is not worth the cost savings (I should have listened). I left it in my back yard as a science experiment. Within 3 years there were only some flappy sections of the fiberglass skin which the worms refused to eat.

Epoxy saturation of plywood began as a common boat construction some time about 1970, sometime after the boom in fiberglass boat building. So we can't say definitely how long they will last.... however the oldest ones I know of needed some work and then needed more work.... sort of like fiberglass boats of the same vintage!

anyone else want to comment on how long one of these puppies will last with a sensible level of maintenence.kept under a cover, but not indoors, and all problems promptly sorted?

Derek, I'm planning on many years of good sailing with my i550. The thing is fully encased in fiberglass on the outside, 2 coats of epoxy on the inside plus polyurethane in the cabin around the companionway. There are 30 year old thistles still going strong and there's no reason to think that a well cared for i550 couldn't do the same. I'm in the same boat as you, there's little chance I'll get to build another boat anytime soon.

anyone else want to comment on how long one of these puppies will last with a sensible level of maintenence.kept under a cover, but not indoors, and all problems promptly sorted?

i have the square rrot of fuck all knowledge about these things, and dont want to build a masterpiece (it is a do-it-once project if i do it!) if it is going to last 9 years before it turns to papier mache.

Since I'm speaking as the Voice of Doom, perhaps I should continue on a more positive note.... certainly don't want to discourage anybody from going ahead!

"Turning to paper mache" might be a bit of an exaggeration; but the issue of water intrusion after completion, or rot spores being included in the original wood before epoxying, is very very real.

If you keep the boat well it should be 4~5 years before you start getting soft spots, and if you use marine grade ply and do a god job epoxying, it could be a lot longer. Keeping all holes well caulked, hardware bedded etc etc is a high priority, letting it go a couple months too long will let the degradation start. And the problem with plywood is that the grain wicks the water all thru the structure very quickly.

The issue is what happens when you start to get soft spots. If you de-skin the soft section and replace the wood, then reskin it (not really a major job).... no problem. by the time the boat is 10~15 years old, the odds are very high you will have had to do this once or twice especially around deck hardware.

Of course, the odds are also high (in this modern world) that you will no longer be the owner so who cares?

The best lasting ply boats I know of are kayaks which are kept indoors and have almost no hardware screwed/bolted into them (so less chance for water intrusion). I know of one that is used regularly by the original owner, is about 20 years old, and (I think) has only a few minor questionable spots... since it's not mine I feel shy about poking it unmercifully the owner says he has not replaced any wood in it and that looks to be true.

This same guy had another boat that he had to put a fair amount of new wood into at 15 years, again a kayak with almost no fittings, screws, bolts, etc etc.

The worst case is a dinghy that I built of cheap Home Depot plywood that probably came from the store with wet spots. Despite liberal epoxy saturation (I had a lot of it left over from a previous job) the thing rotted out in a little over a year. That's why many people say that cheapo plywood is not worth the cost savings (I should have listened). I left it in my back yard as a science experiment. Within 3 years there were only some flappy sections of the fiberglass skin which the worms refused to eat.

Epoxy saturation of plywood began as a common boat construction some time about 1970, sometime after the boom in fiberglass boat building. So we can't say definitely how long they will last.... however the oldest ones I know of needed some work and then needed more work.... sort of like fiberglass boats of the same vintage!

Hope this helps clarify

FB- Doug

Amongst the best ways to properly seal wood is by completely encapsulate the wood with epoxy and glass, inside, outside and in the thickness. Could it be only 2 ounces fiberglass. Any parts that have prolonged contact with water should have this treatment. The boat will live forever.Another way is to use a dedicated thin epoxy sealer, not an all purpose glue.

The inside bottom of a boat where water can touch and stay should be glassed. Period.

I will now spend 18 months watching all these builds and getting too excited about a future project. (there is a pattern here)

basically - cant afford a boat, so may as well build one! eventually!

daughter is 4.
get rid of the A for a year or two, and get her dinghy sailing with me for a couple of years.
A year to help Daddy build a boat
get some serious sailing in on the beast when she is 7.
sounds like a plan

I am putting together a 20'ish sportboat demo weekend in Chicago the weekend of June 13/14 2009. Is there somebody, who can show up with a kick-ass i550 and take people out for rides throughout the weekend? It would be a great way to get you guys some exposure and also provide one more boat in this segment. More info on the thread here